Meet Ashley Carrington: Delta Sigma Pi founding ‘father’

Ashley Carrington says her journey at RIT has only begun. “I’m only a sophomore and there are so many more leadership positions on campus that I can take on and I really feel that I can give back so much more to the community before I depart,” says the accounting major in the E. Philip Saunders College of Business.

Jan. 28, 2012, was a day of both celebration and brotherhood for Ashley Carrington. She is one of the founding fathers of Delta Sigma Pi-Epsilon Lambda Chapter, a professional co-ed business fraternity on the RIT campus that was resurrected and reactivated after nearly 60 years of extinction.

“It’s been so long that we couldn’t find our alumni and had no idea who they were,” says Carrington, who serves as vice president of finance for the fraternity. “We have 34 active members and we are all ‘fathers’ since we started the chapter from the ground up. And being a professional fraternity, we actually initiate faculty; professors Sean Hansen, Joseph Miller, Victor Perotti and Raj Murthy from the Saunders College of Business are all brothers.”

Carrington hails from Stony Point, about 45 minutes from New York City. Her father, Sean Carrington, graduated from RIT in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in information technology.

“It’s actually a funny thing because everyone in my family works in IT—my mom, my brother and my dad. My father even trained me on Java and gave me tests before I came to RIT so I would be prepared. But I said no to IT, so they always joke around and say I’m not in the family anymore.”

When Carrington says she works 14-hour days, she means it. The second-year accounting major in the E. Philip Saunders College of Business is on the dean’s list, was selected as a Multicultural Center for Academic Success Legacy Scholar, competed on the women’s varsity soccer team last year, serves as secretary of the Next Generation of Accountants and chief financial director of the AALANA (African American, Latino American, Native American) Collegiate Association and also works as assistant financial services coordinator in the mechanical engineering department.

“Last year I also organized the first ever Tiger Race fundraiser—held the day after Mud Tug last September—a grueling 5K obstacle race,” Carrington says. “I wanted a Spartan-like race; I wanted people to push themselves to the limit. We raised about $1,200 for our fraternity to bring in special speakers.”

Carrington was also on the student search committee to hire the new dean of the Saunders College, and “dt ogilvie was my pick,” she says with a laugh. “I’m so glad she’s here.

“I think she blends very well with the RIT community, especially because of her entrepreneurship spirit and her drive for success and that works well with everything we stand for in innovation and research.”

Does Carrington have time for hobbies? “I love art, I love music, I used to play violin, I ride quad and dirt bikes, jet skis, love visiting museums in New York City, love sports, and football is my favorite—Giants all the way.

“But I like extreme sports best and on my 19th birthday I decided to jump out of a plane. Imagine sitting on a swing in the sky and then falling, with the wind gusting, your arms out and seeing a panoramic view. I know I can top that; maybe next is bungee jumping.”

A. Sue Weisler

Ashley Carrington says her journey at RIT has only begun. “I’m only a sophomore and there are so many more leadership positions on campus that I can take on and I really feel that I can give back so much more to the community before I depart,” says the accounting major in the E. Philip Saunders College of Business.